To enable a computer-based translator to translate words or phrases from a source language to a target language, the computer-based translator may be trained using a training set that includes pre-translated sentences. The training set may provide the translation algorithm with a translation vocabulary. However, while the computer-based translator may be effective at translating words or phrases that are included in the translation vocabulary, the computer-based translator may be unable to translate words or phrases that are not included in the translation vocabulary. A word that is not included in (e.g., excluded from) the training set may be referred to as an out-of-vocabulary (OOV) word.
When a computer-based translator encounters an out-of-vocabulary word, the out-of-vocabulary word may be transliterated because a translation corresponding to the out-of-vocabulary word is unavailable. However, an individual who is unfamiliar with the source language may be unable to determine the meaning of the transliterated out-of-vocabulary word, particularly when the out-of-vocabulary word is not a proper name.